Freedom of the Press Foundation Releases its 2018 Annual Report

For anyone who cares about press freedom rights, it’s been a concerning year. In the United States, the president attacks journalists as “enemies of the people” on a weekly basis. Leak investigations targeting whistleblowers are at an all-time high. Journalists have been arrested and physically attacked covering protests at alarming rates. Abroad, the number of journalists being jailed is unprecedented.

But there is also reason to hope.

At Freedom of the Press Foundation, we are at the forefront of all these issues. While there are certainly a lot of battles ahead, it’s our job to equip journalists to face ever-changing threats in the 21st Century. While they face increasing dangers, they’ve also never been better prepared to handle them.

Without our supporters, our donors, and the brave journalists and whistleblowers who put their lives on the line, none of this would be possible.

We’re going to fight harder than ever in the coming year, and with your support, the public’s right to know will be stronger than ever.

Here’s a few highlights of what we accomplished in 2018:

SecureDrop: Over 75 major news organizations have installed SecureDrop, Our open source whistleblower submission system, in the U.S. and abroad. It has become a vital tool for outlets holding the Trump administration to account and getting vital information to the public.

The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker: Since the launch of the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker in late 2017, FPF has documented 220 press freedom violations involving journalists and reporters.

Encryption Tools: Haven, an android app that acts as a security system, has been downloaded over 500,000 times since it's release.

Secure the News: News websites have an increasing obligation to protect the security and privacy of their readers, as well as their journalists and sources. Secure The News tracks the adoption of HTTPS encryption across major news websites and encourages them to adopt security practices that will protect journalists and readers alike. 86% of major news organizations now use HTTPS encryption by default, thanks to this advocacy campaign.

Archive the News: After Gothamist and DNAinfo were abruptly shut down, we built an open-source software tool enabling journalists to protect their work by saving an entire archive of their portfolios. In 2018, we created over 52,000 PDFs of articles for working journalists to include in their archives and writing portfolios.

The role of journalism in our democracy matters now more than ever and we are grateful for your support of our important work. Below is our complete annual report, outlining our projects and programs, highlights of the year, and expansion plans for 2019.

DOUBLE your support until Dec. 31st!

To encourage your generosity, NSA whistleblower and board president Edward Snowden—as well as two other donors—have promised to match donations up to $50,000 until December 31st.